DEAR HELOISE: Nearly every website I go to wants me to enter my email address or name or more. I might be looking for just some information, but these sites won't allow me to just enter and look around at what they are offering without getting information I'd rather not give them. The next thing you know your email inbox is loaded with spam from these people who demanded your email address or from others who buy lists from them. It angers me that I get so much junk mail for trash that I don't want. No, I don't want a musical dog leash or a motion detector light on my toothbrush.
There should be more regulations and laws pertaining to internet use and the protection of our privacy. The majority of people I know are fed up with having to enter our personal information on websites that we may only visit once or twice.
-- Mike and Stella T.,
Battle Creek, Mich.
DEAR READERS: Here are some new uses for wine racks:
• Roll up magazines and store in the openings.
• Roll up place mats and store inside.
• Store slippers in them.
• Store small toys inside.
DEAR HELOISE: Today I got a call from some woman saying she was from the county health department, asking if I had my covid vaccine yet. I told her not yet but I intended to get the vaccine soon. She said she could help me get the vaccine in a couple of days and that while we were on the phone she would need to take down some information. I got suspicious. She wanted my Medicare number and Social Security number, which I refused to give her. She hung up on me.
When I told my son about this he made some calls and found out scammers are out there promising to send a nurse to your home with the covid vaccine, but it's a lie. Instead, they rob you blind, and it's a mess to untangle your finances in the future. Please warn your readers about this.
-- Wade S., Lima, Ohio
DEAR READER: There are so many scammers out there, and they're always coming up with new ways to take advantage of the elderly or innocent. Once again, keep all financial and personal information private and don't give it out to random strangers, no matter what they promise you.
DEAR HELOISE: Warranties: We used to keep losing them, but one day I decided to get organized and bought a large binder. I now put all warranties in this binder and place the binder on a shelf in my home office. However, I also have a metal filing cabinet with all of our personal things organized inside. Items such as a wedding certificate, our wills, passports and medical records are in each person's file.
-- Meredith B., Bend, Ore.
Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email